Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

A special attention will be paid to the licensing of the tourist facilities as part of preparations for the first European Games, Baku 2015, Azerbaijan's Tourism and Culture Minister Abulfaz Garayev said on July 4.

"To this end, all the hotels have to be licensed before the European Games in Azerbaijan," Garayev said.

Baku Games is a major sport event for the country. The Europe's first multi-sport event will gather more than 6,000 athletes from 49 countries affiliated to the European Olympic Committees to compete in 19 sports in Azerbaijan's capital on June 12-28.

"There are some entrepreneurs in tourism sector who don't deal with this issue with sufficient responsibility," Garayev said.

He added that more stringent administrative measures would be taken if they do not meet the requirements.

"Licenses of six or seven companies and hotels were canceled last year," he said.

The monitoring of the vacation centers is continuing, Garayev said adding that a separate order has been issued in this regard.

Hotels in Azerbaijan are classified based on the certificates issued by the Ministry, which regularly verifies compliance of hotels with its requirements.

It should be noted, that the price of rooms in Baku's hotels has declined more than 10 percent over the past five years. At present, there are 103 hotels in Baku, including 22 five-star hotels, 46 four-star hotels and 26 three-star hotels, as well as 9 hotels beyond classification or on the balance of the state.

The price of a room in a number of hotels in the regions of Azerbaijan is currently 25-30 manats per day ($31-38).

Beside five-star hotels, there are a growing number of three- and four-star hotels costing $80-100 a day in the country. Currently, there are 241 travel agencies and over 500 hotels and hotel-type facilities in Azerbaijan.

About 2.4 million tourists visited Azerbaijan in 2013, spending some $700-800 a week on accommodations, food, and cultural programs.